Full of Grace
by Collective Soul
Summary: Rory and Jess’s long-awaited romance begins after the Bracebridge Dinner when Rory, Lorelai, Jess and Luke are trapped in the Inn. But when Rory returns to Chilton after the winter break, will her relationship be threatened by Tristan? Literati.
1. This Ungodly Hour

**Full Of Grace**

Chapter One – This Ungodly Hour

Summary: Rory and Jess's long-awaited romance begins after the Bracebridge Dinner when Rory, Lorelai, Jess and Luke are trapped in the Inn. But when Rory returns to Chilton after the break, will her relationship be threatened by Tristan?

Disclaimers: If anything actually belonged to me, do you really think I'd be writing Fan fictions instead of scripts for the show?

* * *

Rory sat on the bed with her head in her hands. Why did he do this to her? She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him since he had jumped aboard her sleigh earlier that evening. He made her think. He made her question her relationship with Dean. He made her see things from a different angle, and she didn't like that he had the effect on her. She should be devoting all her thoughts to her boyfriend. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was one in the morning. Lorelai had left with Emily after she had knocked pleadingly at the door and hadn't come back since.

Ever since he had come to Stars Hollow, Jess had made her feel different than she had ever felt before. She felt wanted, and in a way that she didn't feel when Dean amiably held her hand. Jess looked at her in a way that sent shivers through her body and caused her stomach to turn with delight. She felt awful for not admitting these feelings to anyone, and especially guilty for pretending everything was perfect when she was with Dean.

She closed her eyes and tried stop thinking about him. But all she could see was his face, grinning back at her with his eyebrow raised, his cheeks so well-defined and shadow falling across his skin, increasing the mystery…

She shook herself. And opened her eyes.

She stood up, slid into her slippers, and headed out of the room and downstairs to the Inn's kitchen. Dirty dishes were piled all around; although Lorelai enjoyed washing them, Sookie had been tired and insisted on doing them the next day. Rory poured herself a glass of milk and put it in the microwave, hoping that she would be able to fall asleep soon and forget about Jess and the uncanny effect he had on her.

As she headed back to the room with her warm milk, she passed Richard on the couch in the Parlour, sleeping with his glasses on and a book in his hand. She gently took his glasses off, folded them, placed them on the table, and unfolded a nearby quilt and spread it over him. She wondered where her mother and Emily were, and thoughts of Jess slipped away from her mind.

* * *

Jess couldn't sleep. Luke was snoring, something in the bathroom was steadily dripping, and his pillow emitted a smell that was far too floral for his liking. But the thing that was bugging him the most was the fact that Rory was in the same building as him, and there was nothing but a few walls between them. He pictured her lying on her bed, asleep, with stray strands of hair falling across her creamy skin. He smiled, and then let out a sigh. The smile had vanished from his face. She wasn't going to leave Dean for him.

The room was beginning to annoy him. Luke's snoring was louder than ever, the sound of the dripping seemed to feed off of Luke's volume, and all he could smell were the pillows, intoxicating him with their sickly sweet smell. He decided he needed to get out.

He crept down the stairs and through the dark halls. He paused as he heard someone in the Parlour. He didn't want to have to explain his wandering to anyone so he hid himself in the shadows. He peered around the corner to see who it was.

It was Rory.

She was covering her grandfather with a quilt. She had a look of such tenderness and care that Jess felt a knot in his throat. He put his back against the wall and tried not to be seen, but a part of him hoped that she would notice him as she walked by.

The halls were dark, and he knew she wouldn't be able to see him if he stayed in the shadows. She started down the hall. The knot in his throat rose as she drew closer. A beam of moonlight illuminated part of the hall, and as she walked through it, he saw the nervous look on her face. He took in a breath and as soon as he did, he knew it had been too loud.

* * *

She walked through the dark halls, anxious to get back to her room. She wasn't afraid of the dark, but it was playing tricks on her eyes and the shadows seemed to be re-arranging themselves. As she stepped through a patch of moonlight, she paused and shivered.

She heard a noise. Someone was in the hall. She jerked around, searching frantically for the source of the sound.

"Afraid of the dark?" said a voice, and a figure stepped out from the shadows.

It was Jess.

Rory didn't feel any more comfortable. "No. It's just… it was too quiet, and the shadows were…" She paused as she realized how stupid it sounded.

Jess smirked. The moonlight illuminated only half of his face, and Rory caught her breath.

"What are _you _doing wandering the halls at this ungodly hour?" She said, trying the direct the attention away from her.

He shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. I see you couldn't either," he gestured questioningly to the glass of milk in her hand.

"Warm milk. It always helps me get to sleep," she explained. "Ever since I was a kid. What, you don't believe me?"

He was looking at her with his eyebrows raised, seemingly amused. "It just seems fairly odd, that's all,"

"Well I'll get you a glass and you'll see for yourself," she said, gesturing for him to follow her back to the kitchen.

* * *

They stood in an awkward silence as they waited for the milk to warm up in the microwave. Jess felt that two minutes had never lasted as long as they did at that moment. His eyes were fixed on her face as she watched the glass slowly turn around and warm up inside the appliance. When the two minutes was over and a beep was emitted from the machine, Rory opened the door and gingerly picked up the glass. She blew on the top and took a sip. After finding that it was heated to her satisfaction, she handed it to Jess.

He held the glass stared at the place where her lips had touched. He looked back at her and saw her blush in realization.

"Come on, I don't have cooties," she said, her face crimson.

He grinned and placed his lips on the glass in the exact spot where her lips had touched. She didn't notice.

"Well, I should get back to bed," she said, breaking the silence.

Jess nodded and watched her back until she was around the corner.

When he went back to the room and lay on his bed, he realized that he had only made it worse for himself. He leaned back and sipped his milk, thinking about Rory and how nice she had been to him despite what he had said to her earlier that evening on the sleigh ride. She was too good for him. But he still wanted her.

There was no way he was going to get to sleep now.

He finished the glass of milk and sighed, putting it on the table and lying down.

He was beginning to feel drowsy.

* * *

"Well, that was successful, don't you think?" Lorelai remarked the next morning as the second-last set of guests left the Inn.

"Well, the Inn is still standing an everyone appears to be alive," said Rory as she unfolded the guest list, "So yes, I'd say it was successful." She wondered why she hadn't seen Luke and Jess emerge from the stairs yet.

"So is everyone gone? Can we finally get down to the cleaning of the dishes and dirty sheets?"

Rory glanced at the list that she was fidgeting with. "Everyone but Luke and Jess."

"Hmm, maybe we should go check on them," Lorelai said, starting to ascend the stairs. She stopped and glanced back at Rory expectantly.

"What?" Rory saw the gleeful look on her mother's face. "No. I'm not going up there."

"Oh come on," Lorelai said. "I can't do it by myself. You're no fun."

Rory shook her head.

Lorelai lowered her head and walked back to Rory, pouting her lip. "You ruin all my fun." As she approached her daughter, she grabbed her hand and let out an "Aha!" while pulling her up the stairs.

They stood outside the closed door.

"Think about it, _anything _could be inside," whispered Lorelai as they stood side by side, facing the bronze numbers without making a move to knock or open the door.

"Well, not _anything_," Rory hissed back, annoyed at being dragged upstairs against her will.

"Yes, anything," Lorelai said. "For all we know, there could be coyote carcasses and satanic drawings on the wall with blood!"

"Somehow I doubt that."

"Well? What are you waiting for? Go on in!"

"What? You're the one who dragged me up here, you're the one who has to knock or go in or whatever it is you're planning on doing."

"Hmm, I hadn't thought that far," Lorelai admitted. "It just sounded fun. Okay, let's do it in together."

"Fine," Rory said, knowing that she would not be able to escape any other way.

"On the count of three…" they both raised their fist to the door. "One… Two…" Lorelai paused dramatically. The door opened and they both flew back in surprise.

"What do you want?" Luke growled, his hair a mess and in his pyjamas.

"Did you just wake up?"

"No, I think the half-asleep look is attractive," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, it's working for you," Lorelai grinned, and got a glare from Luke. "Is your other half still passed out?"

"His bed was farther away from the door," he said, as if that explained it all. After seeing Lorelai's blank look, he added "He wasn't jerked out of sleep by the bickering that was going on a minute ago,"

"Yeah, I can hear him snoring," Lorelai commented.

"So…" Luke said, leaning on the doorframe.

"So what?" asked Lorelai.

"So why did you come here and wake me up? I happened to be having a very pleasant dream."

"Oh, I _so _don't want to know about that," Lorelai said. "It's just that all of our other guests weren't quite as comatose as you two."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you're the last ones here."

"What?" He turned back and yelled into the room "Jess, get your ass out of bed. Jess!"

"No, it's fine, as long as you don't pull a Jack Torrance on us."

"Jack Torrance?"

"You know, it's an empty Inn, nobody here except us and you guy. The Shining," she added.

"Oh. Hey, I'm sorry for not waking up sooner. Those beds are just so damn comfortable, and… Dammit, Jess! Wake up!"

"Well, if you're _that _sorry, you'd better make it up." Luke looked at her blankly. "Sookie and Jackson went home, and we have a load of dishes to do."

"You don't have anyone else here and you want us to help."

Lorelai looked at Rory. "By George, I think he's got it!"

"Alright, alright. We'll be in the kitchen just as soon as I can drag Jess out of bed."

Lorelai and Rory headed back downstairs; Rory silent and Lorelai with a smug look on her face. The Inn was completely silent, except for the "For the love of God, Jess! Get the hell out of bed already!" that could be heard echoing through the halls.

Rory looked out the window. It was beginning to snow.

* * *

Author's Note: Alright, I know nothing really eventful (Rory/Jess-wise) happened yet, but I should have the next chapter up within this week (possibly even tomorrow) so stick with me. 


	2. Bam Thwok

**Chapter Two – Bam Thwok**

"What do you mean we're stuck here?" Luke said with a grimace, his hands dripping and covered in suds after two hours of washing dishes.

"Well, the snow is up to my shoulders, so if you dig a tunnel out, you'll have to pretty much dig it to wherever you want to go." Lorelai put away the last of the bowls and looked around the Inn's kitchen with a look of satisfaction.

"Have you seen the snow?" Rory burst into the kitchen in excitement.

"Yeah, Hun, it's awesome!"

"How can you be _happy _about this?" Luke asked in amazement. "We're stuck here. _Stuck_."

"Relax, Luke," Lorelai said happily. "We have coffee, enough food to feed the Swedish Army for four months, and it's not like you have anything important to do."

"I have a _business _to run," He said. "That's what I'd call pretty damn important."

"Luke, if you can't get into your own store, how many customers do you think will be able to?"

"Eskimos?" Rory suggested. "Or people with snow shoes. Or cross-country skiers."

"You're so not helping."

"But she's right!" said Luke.

"You seriously think that Eskimos are going to want to come into your diner and purchase a date square today?"

Luke glared at her. "Not Eskimos, but the snow shoe-ers are a definite possibility, as are the cross-country skiers. Some people I know would go to those lengths for a decent cup of coffee."

"Well, Luke," said Lorelai, patting him on the back, "Rory and I are here, so you've got that covered. Relax."

Luke sighed. "I guess there's nothing much I can do, anyways. Where's Jess?"

Rory cleared her throat. "I think he's still upstairs changing sheets."

"Why don't you go tell him that we're not going anywhere for awhile."

"Sure," Rory said hesitantly. She left her mother and Luke in the kitchen and headed slowly up the stairs.

* * *

It was the last room. He knew it was her room, so he had gone and done all the other rooms and left it until the end. Lorelai had sent him upstairs to change the sheets on all of the beds. He paused in front of the door of the room he knew she had slept in last night. Nobody else was on that floor, and the silence in the halls confirmed it, but he couldn't help but look around guiltily before carefully entering the room.

As soon as he got inside and shut the door behind him, he let out a breath. He walked to the side of the bed that had Ayn Rand's _Atlas Shrugged _on the night table and immediately knew it was her side of the bed. There was also a bracelet on the night table, and he picked it up and twirled it around with his fingers a couple times before tucking it into his pocket. The bed was made, but the pillow still had the impression of a head in it. He wondered if it smelled like her. He leaned down and took in a deep breath, inhaling the aroma of her shampoo.

He heard the door open behind him.

* * *

She reached the top to the staircase and stopped, partially afraid to confront Jess alone. She decided that she had to do it eventually, and continued down the deserted hall. She stopped again in front of her room when she saw the basket of dirty sheets on the floor in front of her door. She briefly wondered why the door was shut. Figuring Jess was inside; she opened it and went in. He was leaning down by her bed, and as soon as she came in, his head jerked towards her.

"What are you doing?" She asked timidly.

"Changing the sheets. What does it look like?" He began to strip the sheets off hastily.

"You can leave those ones on," Rory said. "It looks like we'll be staying another night."

Jess looked at her blankly.

"I take it you haven't looked out the window lately."

He dropped the sheets and walked over to the window. "Holy shit. When did it start snowing?"

"Uh, I think it started when everyone was leaving. And it doesn't look like any of us will be going anywhere."

Jess turned around and looked at her. "Who's here?"

"Just you, Luke, my mom and me," Rory said nervously. "Mom let the staff go because Sookie was going to come back, but I don't think she's going to be able to."

"Just me, Luke, Lorelai and you," Jess repeated. "Huh."

"Anyways, we've got loads of food, books and coffee, so I think we'll be fine,"

"It seems so. Give me a hand?" He gestured to the bed.

Rory blushed, thinking of an alternate interpretation. "Sure." She walked to the other side and picked up the corner of the sheet, wrapping it around the top corner of the bed as Jess did his side. She helped him re-make the bed and smiled when he thanked her.

_Maybe this won't be so bad, _she thought.

* * *

They sat in the Parlour, reading, all day. Lorelai and Luke where elsewhere, and Jess couldn't care less. He couldn't stop looking at Rory, who was absorbed in her novel. Jess had grabbed a book at random from among the shelves, and sat in an armchair pretending to read but actually only sneaking glances at Rory from over the top of the book. He turned a page every couple of minutes, completely oblivious to the words on the paper.

When time for supper came, and Lorelai and Rory bantered about nothing in particular, Jess found himself entranced by her every word, meaningless as they were. He gazed at the wall across from him, thinking about punching Dean and how good it felt.

"Jess! For the last time, pass the damn potatoes!"

He snapped back to reality and saw that everyone was looking at him. He quickly slid the potatoes to his uncle, and the conversation resumed.

"Thank God for microwaves," Lorelai was saying. Jess looked at Rory and saw that she was still looking at him. She blushed and turned away. Jess grinned to himself.

* * *

"Well, there's good news, and there's bad news." Lorelai announced to a room of three shivering people.

Jess, Luke and Rory looked up at her expectantly.

"The furnace is broken, but it can be fixed! Hooray! Luke, we just need your tools because we have none here."

"I didn't bring my toolbox," he said, irritated.

"Oh. Well, I guess there's no good news then. Thanks, Luke."

"So we're going to freeze?" Rory said miserably through chattering teeth. "Thanks a lot, Luke."

"How is it _my _fault that your Inn is not stocked with sufficient tools?"

"Because you should have foreseen this and brought your own toolbox?" Lorelai said.

Luke grumbled something that distinctly had the word "idiots" in it.

"But, we have lots of blankets! So we're not going to die!"

"Great," Jess mumbled from the corner. His body was violently shaking.

Lorelai brought some blankets down from unused rooms and the four sat huddled in the Parlour, too cold to talk.

* * *

Later that night, Rory was still freezing in her bed under six blankets.

"Where are you going?" She said, her voice muffled, as Lorelai got out of bed and was about to leave the room.

"Oh, I thought you were asleep. I'll be right back."

"Okay…" It didn't seem like she had much of a choice. She lay there for half an hour, completely immobile under the oppressing blankets, and finally decided to get up. When she got out of the bed and stood up, she had to steady herself with the table. She was shaking so hard that she could barely see straight, let alone think. She stumbled, shaking madly, out of her room and knocked on the door of the room beside her. Jess answered immediately.

"Whoa, Rory, you don't look too good."

"Is my mom there?" She tried to say, but her teeth were chattering so viciously that she knew Jess couldn't understand.

"Your lips are blue," he sounded worried. "Come here."

He drew her in towards him and rubbed her arms with his hands, resting her chin on his shoulder.

* * *

He was freaked out. Rory had come into his room, and Luke and Lorelai were nowhere to be seen. She had come into his room frozen solid, and he didn't know what to do. When he rubbed her arms and her back, she seemed to calm down a bit, and he led her over to his single bed. The sheets were already pulled back, and he laid her down and covered her with the two blankets. He was so concerned about her that he barely noticed the cold himself.

"Jess," she murmured with her eyes closed as he stood up straight. "Don't go."

He sat down beside her on the tiny bed. He took her hand in his and brought it up to his mouth, wrapping his warm lips around her frigid fingers. As soon as his lips touched her flesh, she relaxed and stopped shaking. He took his lips away and she immediately began shaking again. He kissed her fingers and she stopped.

He slid under the sheets and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her against his body. She stopped shaking completely and sighed, falling asleep.

Then the realization hit him. She was sleeping, pressed up against his body. He struggled to think of other things, anything that would stop the southward flow of his blood. He was doing fine until she moved her leg and shifted her weight. He squeezed her tighter and controlled himself with great effort.

She rolled over and was facing him. Her eyes were closed but she looked restless. He stared at her lips, pale pink and no longer blue, and he longed to take them in his own.

Before he knew it, he was leaning in and kissing her. He was tasting her mouth as he had dreamed about before on many occasions, only it was better. He was wrapping his arms tighter around her. She was opening her eyes, she was awake, and she was kissing him back. It was all moving so fast.

She reached up and ran her hands through his hair, pausing when they reached his neck. She gave it a squeeze, which caused him to emit a deep moan, and she sat up quickly. She was shivering again. She looked around wildly and saw Jess, really saw him, lying there on the bed, looking up at her expectantly.

When he saw that she was once again shivering, he sat up too, concerned.

"Shit, Rory, I'm sorry, you were sleeping, I shouldn't have…"

"I was awake," she was saying, the chattering of her teeth resumed. "And I was fully aware… Jess, I have a boyfriend."

"A fact that you have made very clear."

"Jess, I'm serious, I don't want to hurt him."

His eyes shone and he tore his gaze away from her. "Do whatever you think is best then."

She clutched her arms, desperately trying to regain the body that was quickly slipping away.

"Jess? Can I stay here tonight?" Her teeth rattled in her mouth.

"Rory, I don't know if that's the best idea… you have a boyfriend, as you said. What would Dean say if he knew?"

"I don't want to be with him anymore."

"What?" Jess looked up sharply. "I thought you didn't want to hurt him."

"I don't. I don't want to be with him anymore, but I still don't want to hurt him."

"Why don't you want to be with him anymore?" Jess asked, barely able to keep the note of eagerness out of his voice.

"I…" She paused and looked at him. She was startled by a violent spasm of shivers. "I'm so tired. And cold."

"Here, lie back down." He tucked her in again, got up and turned off the light. He walked back to the bed through the dark and crawled in beside her, wrapping his arms around her again and holding her close until the shaking subsided and she fell into a calm sleep. He remained awake for a long time after that.


	3. Little White Flowers

Author's Note: In the last chapter, I wasn't trying to make Rory melodramatic and making a big deal out of the cold to get attention; I am aware that cold affects people differently, especially people of different body types. Taking into account the fact that Rory appears to have a significantly lesser level of body fat, I assumed that she would be more affected by the cold. But, like everything else, it is open to your interpretation.

**Chapter 3 – Little White Flowers**

Rory awoke early in the morning to find herself tucked comfortably under Jess's arm, in his bed. She panicked. She remembered kissing him the night before, and although she didn't regret it at all, she felt guilty. As much as she liked Jess, she didn't like the idea of cheating on her boyfriend. She gently pried Jess's arm off of her and slid out of bed without waking him. As soon as she moved out of the bed, she noticed that she was freezing.

She stood up and wondered where Luke was. Better yet, why her mother hadn't come into the room looking for her. She went next door to the room her and Lorelai were supposed to have shared, only to find that her mom wasn't there and the room was exactly as she had left it the night before. She was curious and wanted to know her mom's whereabouts, but decided to wait until breakfast. She put a thick sweater over the one she was already wearing and headed down to the kitchen.

She pulled a pan from under the stove and settled on making scrambled eggs for herself.

"Early riser?" The voice from the doorway nearly made her jump out of her skin. Luke was standing there in his pyjamas.

Rory nodded and turned back to the eggs she was scrambling in a bowl. "Mom doesn't understand it. I just feel like I'm wasting most of the day when I sleep in. You want some eggs?"

"Sure," Luke said, coming into the kitchen. "I know what you mean. I get up at four every day. Even in my teens, I never slept later than ten."

"Did you sleep well last night?" She asked, adding milk to the mixed eggs.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Yeah, just fine, how about you? Not too cold?"

It was her turn to be uneasy. She turned to pour the eggs into a pan to hide the flushing of her face. "Yeah, I warmed up a bit later,"

"That's good…"

She could tell Luke didn't know what else to say; he wasn't the best at small talk and chitchat.

"Do you know where my mom is?" She asked, thinking of something to fill the silence. "She didn't come back to the room last night." Rory had never been alone with Luke before outside of the diner, and she was finding it increasingly awkward.

"Uh…" he was hesitant.

Rory turned around and looked at him, her eyes wide, understanding. "Oh!" She blushed.

"No, no, it's not what you think," he said, a hint of red creeping into his cheeks.

"It's okay. I'm happy for you guys," she said. She smiled and turned back to the eggs, amused and still flushed.

* * *

Jess woke to find himself clutching a pillow. He briefly wondered where Rory had gone, but then shook himself as he remembered the finer details of the previous night. He didn't expect Rory to have waited around until he woke up. They had slept in the same bed, but they hadn't 'slept together'.

_Yet_, he found himself thinking hopefully.

The last night had been painful for him. To have her so close to him but without being able to do what he wanted. He had kissed her and she had kissed him back, but he didn't think she meant it. He had almost taken advantage of her; she had been asleep. Afterwards he had lain awake, against her, imagining what it would be like to have her in that position for other reasons. He had imagined she was there not because she was cold and needed his body heat, but because she wanted him, and wanted to be pressed against him. The thought had caused his whole body to stiffen and Rory to shift. After that, he decided it would be best not to think about her at all. He had eventually gotten to sleep.

He realized that Luke hadn't come back to the room, and after thinking about it for a bit realized what had most likely happened.

He looked out the window and saw that it had stopped snowing, but the snow was piled to the top of the first story. It didn't look like they'd be going anywhere for a while.

* * *

Luke had ventured into the Inn's basement and came up with three space heaters. He positioned them around the kitchen table.

Breakfast that morning was awkward. Rory and Luke had eaten the eggs in silence, and when Jess and Lorelai both emerged four hours later, Lorelai made toast and Jess poured himself a bowl of Cheerios. Rory and Luke joined them at the table, and all four sat in silence. Luke was making obvious faces at Lorelai; Lorelai was pretending to be fascinated with her toast; Jess was staring at Rory; and Rory was looking at the wall.

"So, Mom, have a good sleep?" Rory asked suddenly, and Luke looked nervously at Lorelai, trying to get her attention.

"As a matter of fact, yes, it was the best sleep I've had in quite some time." She beamed and Luke put his head in his hands.

"Dirty," Jess said, crunching the dry Cheerios.

"How is that dirty?" Lorelai asked. She shot a glare at Jess.

"Because it's obvious where you slept last night."

Lorelai looked accusingly at Luke, and Jess smirked.

"Can I have a word with you?" Luke muttered to Lorelai, and the two left the room leaving Rory and Jess alone.

Rory looked across the table and saw Jess looking at her with a lopsided grin plastered across his face.

"Jess," she whispered. "Thanks. For last night."

He kept the grin and raised his eyebrows at her questioningly.

"…For letting me stay with you and keeping me warm."

"For you, anytime," he smirked and resumed eating his Cheerios.

She turned to the heater and spread out her hands, holding her palms to the heat and warming herself. "I'll hold you to it," she said daringly.

* * *

"Mom, have you seen my bracelet?" Rory sounded anxious as she burst into the kitchen after lunch.

"Which one?" Lorelai said, her hands under the warm water in the sink.

"The friendship one from Lane," She said miserably. "I took it off yesterday, and I can't find it anywhere."

"Well, Hun, I'm sure it'll turn up soon," Lorelai said. Rory headed into the parlour and sunk into an armchair, unaware that Jess was peering at her from over the top of his book.

* * *

"There's only three heaters," Lorelai said later that night when everyone was preparing for bed. "That means that someone will have to share," she added.

"Thanks for pointing that out," Jess said, "to all of us who aren't as good at math as you."

Lorelai scowled at him. "Luke, you and I will share; Rory, Jess, you guys each get your own."

"Uh, thanks?" Rory said. That meant that Lorelai and Luke would be sleeping elsewhere.

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself tonight?" Lorelai asked once she and Rory were alone in the room. "I could stay if you want me to."

"I'll be fine. You go…be… with Luke, or whatever it is that's going on with you guys,"

"Goodnight, Hun," Lorelai left Rory alone in the room.

As soon as Rory had settled into her bed as was about to turn off the light, the door opened again and Jess came in holding his heater.

"What are you doing?" She asked, sitting up and holding the blankets against her body.

"Well, seeing how cold you were last night, I didn't want to risk anything."

Rory's eyes widened.

"So I thought, why have one heater when you can have two?"

"Jess, you'll freeze if you give me your heater!"

"Not if I'm in here too. You mind?"

"Uh…" she hesitated and then thought of how comfortable she had been the night before. She thought of Dean and what he would say if he knew what was going on. Then she told herself that nothing was going to happen, so it was fine. It was all innocent. "Go ahead."

Jess plugged the heater in angled it at Rory. He got into the bed beside her, and she reached up the wall and turned off the light.

He fell asleep almost immediately, and Rory lay beside him thinking. Her thoughts were short and in quick succession.

She wanted to break up with Dean. She wanted to be with Jess. She was in the same bed as Jess. What if Dean found out?

After about half an hour of the same thoughts going around in her head, she still hadn't been able to fall asleep.

Jess rolled over beside her and groaned. He was muttering something in his sleep, but his mouth was pressed against the pillow and his voice muffled. Rory found herself curious, and leaned closer to try and hear what he was saying.

She gasped as she heard her name.

Her heart was thumping and she didn't know what to do.

He flopped over so that he was on his back, and Rory found herself wanting to hear more.

"Mmm…" was all that came out of his mouth.

The room was dark, but a faint ray of moonlight shone through the window. Seeing the soft outline of his jaw made Rory's heart beat even faster. She stretched a trembling finger toward him and traced the outline of his jaw. He whimpered in his sleep and she bit her lip. She leaned over his face and tenderly lowered her lips toward his. She kissed him shakily, and through his sleep he responded. He bit her bottom lip and sucked it roughly, and she almost cried out. He moved his hands to her back and pulled her on top of him. He moved his mouth to her neck.

"Jess," she murmured, her eyes closed, wanting to savour the moment.

He mumbled something and began to wake up. Rory didn't move.

* * *

Rory. On top of him. He didn't understand. _It's a dream, _he told himself, _it's still only a dream._

_If it's a dream, then I can do whatever I want._

He opened his eyes and looked up at her. Her eyes were closed and she was more beautiful than she had ever been in any of his dreams before. She certainly looked real.

"I wish this wasn't a dream," he said out loud.

She looked surprised. "It's not,"

"That's what you always say, and then I wake up and you're not there."

She looked bewildered. "You've dreamt about me before?"

He sat up and she sat up as well. He kissed her so deeply that he realized it wasn't a dream.

"Jess," she was saying again, distracted.

"What?" he said as he licked her lips like he had been dying to do since the first time he'd seen her.

"I'm going to break up with Dean."

"That's good."

"Jess?" she was pulling back and looking at him.

"Yeah?"

"I'm happy. You make me happy."

He studied her face and saw that she wasn't lying. "We should go to sleep now,"

"Okay. Goodnight." She lay down and pulled the blanked over herself.

"Goodnight, Rory." He kissed her forehead and laid his head on his pillow, grinning to himself in the darkness.


End file.
